SPERU - Further Support to the Penitentiary Reform in Ukraine

This project was co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in co-operation with the main partners, namely the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the State Executive Service and its interregional branches, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, the General Prosecutor Office, the Ombudsmen Office and Civil Society organisations and other relevant national stakeholders interested in penitentiary reform in Ukraine.

Thanks to this project, Ukrainian authorities have been assisted in the promotion of Human rights in the management of prisons as well as in the further development of a rehabilitative approach to offenders in line with the Council of Europe standards, in particular those of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture an Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), and taking into account the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Joint Programme (JP) SPERU achieved the following outcomes:

enhancement of Justice system actors’ awareness to proceed with the penitentiary reform based on the Council of Europe standards
partnerships between the justice system, community services and civil society are facilitated to enhance resocialization and reintegration of prisoners
justice system capacity is enhanced to develop and implement healthcare strategy in prisons

Further support to the reforms in the field of prison and the protection of prisoners’ rights is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2021.

The project implementation started in July 2019 and ended bewteen October 2021 and April 2022.

Project documentation

Useful information

PROJECT NEWS

Back Ukraine: Prisoners' rehabilitation programmes to be improved

A Working Group on rehabilitation programmes for Ukrainian prisoners discussed two programmes: "Keeping Family ties in Custody" (the impact of the imprisonment on the prisoner's family aimed at improving self-confidence and maintaining and strengthening relations with family) and "Problem-solving as transferrable skills for prisoners" (cognitive behavioural therapy to improve problem-solving and decision-making skills). The two draft programmes were developed by the Council of Europe international consultants.

As the next step, the programmes will be adapted to the priorities of the draft Penitentiary Reform Strategy of Ukraine 2021-2025 and the Recommendations on the algorithm of developing correctional programmes by the Working Group. The consolidated versions of the two programmes will be presented to the Ministry of Justice for adoption.

This Working Group meeting that took place on 9 June 2021 was organised by the European Union and Council of Europe Joint Project "Support to Prison Reform in Ukraine - SPERU", which is designed to promote human rights compliant management of prisons, including better alignment of prison healthcare provisions with European standards.

Ukraine 14 June 2021